Sound and silence are allies in the minimal yet intricate music of Lou Bunk. In both his acoustic and electro-acoustic music, timbre unfolds alongside harmony, while extended instrumental techniques, microtones, and a rejection of the virtuosic paints an alien and sometimes barren soundscape.

A native of the Connecticut suburbs, Lou’s earliest compositions were noise improvisations, and four-track collage experiments. Educated at Washington University (MA Composition) and Brandeis University (completing a PhD in Composition and Theory), he has studied music composition with such diverse composers as Eric Chasalow, Michael Tenzer, David Rakowski, Ladislav Kubik, Marty Boykan, and Yehudi Wyner. At Brandeis, he was Assistant Director of the Brandeis Electro-Acoustic Music Studio (2001-2003), and Director of the New Music Brandeis concert series for the 2002-2003 concert season. This year Lou is teaching electronic music and running the studio at Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire. He is also teaching ear training at Boston Conservatory.

Lou’s music is the recipient of several awards (SEAMUS Student Commission Competition, finalist, Irving Fine Fellowship for Music Composition, ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composers Award, finalist), and has been performed in dozens of venues, in the US and Europe; CCRMA, SEAMUS, June in Buffalo, The Computer Arts Festival in Padova, Italy, an American Composers series in Trossingen, Germany, and the Zeitgeist Gallery. This fall, “Being and Becoming”, for bass clarinet, will be performed in New York and Boston. Some current projects include a new piece for solo piano, Sound design for the American Repertory Theatre, a dissertation on the music of Morton Feldman, teaching electronic music, and a rock and roll band called Shana's Mango!.

Over the weekend I went to the Spark festival in Minneapolis and met many people.Among them was Anthony Cornicello who I never met before, but corresponded to in the bloggo-world.I also had my piece Luna played by Brian Sacawa who is also a bloggo person. What a weird world… Anyway,Brian let me know that my name was taken off the blogg list on Sequenza 21 and I told him that life is too precious to spend time writing a regular blog.

It has been at least 6 months since my last post. I am a very poor blogger, and still question the usefulness of it in out world already saturated with information and tasks. But, I though I would try again and perhaps my name will once again be up in lights on Sequenza21 next to Anthony’s and Brian’s.

And, if you think I am going to review Spark. HA!It is just not possible for a composer to be a faithful and honest critic without being anonymous. There are just too many complications and competing interests.I will say though, Spark was well organized and curated in a progressive and interesting way.It was a good mix of medias; music, video, improve, dance, installation, beer.

posted by Lou Bunk

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

From the Ashes

Over the weekend I went to the Spark festival in Minneapolis and met many people.Among them was Anthony Cornicello who I never met before, but corresponded to in the bloggo-world.I also had my piece Luna played by Brian Sacawa who is also a bloggo person. What a weird world… Anyway, Brian let me know that my name was taken off the blog list at Sequenza 21 and I told him that life is too precious to write a regular blog.

It has been at least 6 months since my last post. I am a very poor blogger, and still question the usefulness of it in a world already saturated with information and tasks. But, I thought I would try again and perhaps my name will once again be up in lights on Sequenza21 next to Anthony’s and Brian’s.

And, if you think I am going to review Spark. HA!It is just not possible for a composer to be a faithful and honest critic without being anonymous. There are just too many complications and competing interests.I will say it was well organized and curated in a progressive and interesting way.It was a good mix of medias; music, video, improve, dance, installation, beer.

posted by Lou Bunk

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Let's get on with it.

Dear blog, it has been several weeks since I have written anything in you, but it seems that there is not too much to report. I guess I will start preparing for the classes I am teaching in the fall, and once again put off working on my dissertation.Damn dissertation!It is not that I am not interested in the material I will be writing about, that is Feldmans’ really really really long music, but I just do not consider myself a writer. Maybe that’s why I have a blog? Maybe that is why I am a composer, and not a theorist.

Brandeis makes us write these 50 page papers as part of our dissertation. Some folks write hundreds of pages. Man, like the world needs more composer theorists! Geeze… When I signed up for the program, I knew it was a composition/theory program,and that there was a writing requirement for the dissertation, but now that it is here, I wish I could just forget about the paper and get on with being a composer.

Is this the lifestyle of a composer?Academic; thinking about just the right words to describe a better left undescribed musical moment. Where are the dancing girls and the all night adventures where you end up in the morning sleeping in some rock stars' hotel tub.

posted by Lou Bunk

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

DJ Existential

Dear Blog,

Sorry to be neglecting you lately.It was a busy weekend here in SomervilleMA.

The big question for the past few days has been appropriation in art and music. I was the moderator for a panel discussion on mashups and appropriation, and this has raised a lot of interesting questions. Peter Gilbert was on the panel and advocated for information to be freely used, and that this facilitates a larger cultural conversation.

Last night I was out to dinner with a few friends.This subject of appropriation came up, because I cant get it out of my stupid head, and Ken Ueno expressed what he thought may be an old fashioned way of thinking.He is concerned about this societal trend towards a lack of respect for ownership of intellectual property. He sees this in his students who use James Brown bass lines without even knowing who James Brown is.He warned against the trace of the composer’s identity being lost as a result of dj and mashup culture, especially if dj’s become less and less aware of the genealogy of the samples they are lifting.

Ken, if I am paraphrasing you wrong, please jump in and slap me around a bit. Derek did a great job at that a few weeks a go. I think this is an interesting topic and I am not sure how I feel about it.On the one hand, my ego is like “dude! I did that! Don’t steal it!” on the other hand my inner Buddha says “the self is an illusion anyway. Nothing is original, so how could anything belong to something (the self) that doesn’t exist”

“But, I want to exist”, Lou’s ego screams

“Why?” asks Lou’s inner Buddha.

“Because it feels good, like a chocolate ice-cream cone”

“But can you have ice cream and still not exist?”

“huh?I just don’t want to be alone, stupid Buddha!”

“perfect.”

posted by Lou Bunk

Thursday, July 14, 2005

Union Hangover

Dear Blog,

Gosh,I have to remember to not post after a few drinks. I get so wordy, I am sure I could have widdled that 5 paragraph beast of a post down to 2 or 3.Though I do still like the title: “I am in the Union even if you think I suck” . And some of the content too. It certainly wasn’t a bloggercize in beer goggling, but all that bit about Puritans in Boston… who cares!

Well at least I am not hung-over. I have too much work to do today. Gotta get that damn union working so I can go to the beach.Anyway, I should go and prepare for this panel decision I am moderating on mashups and sampling. I should also spend some time on the parts for the opera, oh yea and making sure the order for the new synths up at Franklin Pierce is going through, and books for classes. Jeepers! Anybody have any good suggestions for a book on the history of electronic music that doesn’t just cover the classical perspective?

posted by Lou Bunk

Monday, July 11, 2005

Composer's Union

Dear Blog,

Do composers get time off?I know some who seem to work all the time based on the amount of music they write, and the number of performances they get.I think composers should get more time off. As a matter of fact, we should have a union. A composers union.The union could take care of things like health care for those stuck in part time teaching land (like me), or for those brave enough to venture outside of academia, but not having the stomach for a ‘9 to 5-er’.

The union could also help level the playing field between those insane enough to work 80 hour weeks, and those like my self who like to have a life outside of being a composer. It just doesn’t seem fair that a handful of composers get all the good gigs, just because they work harder.They should be limited to 40 hour weeks. Or even better, 35 hours, like in France. I call on all non-go-getter, mediocre and slacker composers to band together and form a union.I don’t know that this will bring better music into the world, but I bet we could have a hell of a yearly conference in warm locales.

The other option is for half of all composers to just give up.

posted by Lou Bunk

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

20 weeks off a year, but no health insurance…

I have to say that teaching college is quite a posh gig.I work 30 weeks a year, and when I am working it is usually between 25 and 30 hours a week, if that. And this is considered the ‘eking out a crappy part time teaching’ existence.Coming from a working class family, this is not so bad.Sure I don’t have health insurance, but as long as I don’t graduate before I get that full time gig, then Brandeis gives me health insurance, but not for free.Sure, I am no rich man, and do have to watch my pennies, and as long as I stay in Academia, then I certainly will not get rich, but whatever.The more money you get, the more you want it seems.

Of course,there is the other part of my work called composing, which from one point of view is also my job and can certainly suck up the other 20 weeks a year I am not teaching. I don’t like thinking of composing as my job. That cheapens it I think.I do it cause I want to, because I have something to express. It is not obligatory, and unless I start writing jingles or soundtracks, I doubt I’ll make any money at it. Which is fine.

Granted, I have not written anything since November.This I can only blame partly on Teaching.This past year I got heavily into Sound Design for theatre, and let me tell you, this sucks up a ton of time.And, the pay sucks.It seems like it would get better if I decided to stick with it, which I may,but I think for next year I may stay clear of theatre so I can try and finish that damn dissertation.But I don’t want to finish to quick, because then there I am, stuck without health insurance and paying back ridiculous student loans.But hey, its great to have summers off. Maybe I'll take a nap.